Flood-hit areas face more misery as river water levels ‘not yet at peak’

Flood warnings and alerts are rising across the UK as experts warn that water levels in the country’s worst hit areas are not yet at their peak.

Chaos: The Waterloo to Exeter line under water at the weekend (Picture: Irving)

Flood warnings stood at almost 200 and alerts close to 300 on Monday night, as the Environment Agency predicted more misery for Britain’s worst hit areas.

Meanwhile, it was confirmed that three people have been killed in the recent floods.

Two men died after flood waters trapped their vehicles, while a 21-year-old homeless woman was killed by a spruce tree that fell on her tent in Exeter.

Speaking in a statement to the House of Commons on Monday night, environment secretary Owen Paterson said that more heavy rain was expected and it was too soon to quantify the full scale of the damage.

In Tewkesbury, the River Severn was expected to peak at 4.8m by Tuesday morning, while motorists in Gloucestershire were being urged to continue driving with care in the face of significant flooding.

Tewkesbury Borough Council had opened a rest centre at its council offices in the face of increased flooding overnight.

‘According to the Environment Agency, river levels in our area have not yet peaked and we should expect a further 10cm (4-inch) to 20cm (8-inch) rise,’ said Verna Green, director of communities at Tewkesbury Borough Council.

The deluge has been declared a ‘national crisis’ as hundreds of flood warnings and alerts were put in place across England and Wales – most in the Midlands and the south-west.

Thrills and spills: Joel Doorbar jet-skis on flooded land near Glastonbury (Picture: Apex/Caters)

Martin Weiler of the Environment Agency said: ‘This is now very much a national flood crisis.

‘The scale of this event and these continual events, all summer and now again into the autumn, means the ground is just saturated.

‘The rivers are full and there’s nowhere for the water to go. We’re doing everything we can.’

Thousands of motorists were stranded while major routes such as the M5, the A303 and the A39 were closed by flooding. Trains were also cancelled or delayed.

Prime minister David Cameron wrote of ‘shocking scenes of flooding’. His Twitter message said the government would do ‘everything to help’.